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NHA legislative update
LINCOLN—In the final days of the 2010 legislative session, the following "bills of interest" to NHA members
were signed into law or vetoed by Governor Heineman. The NHA's position is listed behind each bill number,
as well as the bill description and status.
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LB 420 - (Supported) Change a sales tax exemption relating to nonprofit organizations.
Vetoed by the Governor on 4/12/10.
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LB
701 - (Monitored) Provide time limits and penalties for late workers' compensation medical payments.
Signed into law on 4/14/10, effective 4/15/10.
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LB 706 - (Monitored) Provide fees for competency assessments of hearing interpreters.
Signed into law on 4/13/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 780 - (Supported) Change Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act provisions
relating to personal injuries. Signed into law on 4/14/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 800 - (Neutral) Provide methods of early intervention for children at
risk. Signed into law on 4/14/10, effective date tentatively set for 7/15/10.
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LB 849 - (Monitored) Change provisions relating to the Department of
Health and Human Services. Signed into law on 4/13/10, effective 4/14/10.
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LB 872
- (Supported) Change applicability of a medical fee schedule relating to
workers' compensation. Signed into law on 4/12/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 884 - (Supported) Require employers to provide employees with wage and
deduction information as prescribed. Signed into law on 4/12/10 , effective 7/15/10.
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LB 908 - (Monitored) Change workers' compensation provisions relating to
claims for legal services or disbursements. Signed into law on 4/12/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 945 - (Supported) Prohibit use of handheld wireless communication
devices while driving. Signed into law on 4/13/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 961 - (Supported) Provide for economic development training grants and
change job training grant provisions. Signed into law on 4/12/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 999
- (Supported) Provide a moratorium on new hospital licenses and a study on
health care. Signed into law on 4/14/10, effective 4/15/10.
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LB 1002 - (Monitored) Provide for applications to the Commission on Indian
Affairs for state assistance. Signed into law on 4/13/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 1055 - (Monitored) Change provisions relating to extended unemployment
benefits. Signed into law on 4/12/10, effective 7/15/10.
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LB 1094 - (Monitored) Adopt the Nonrecourse Civil Litigation Act. Signed into law
on 4/13/10, effective 7/15/10.
Click here to view the NHA 2010 Bills of Interest Summary. For additional
legislative updates, visit www.nhanet.org.
If you have questions or would like to share your perspective on a particular bill, please contact Bruce Rieker, Vice
President, Advocacy, at (402) 742-8146 or
brieker@nhanet.org.
—
Nebraska Hospital Association, April 16, 2010
NHA legislative update
LINCOLN—Nebraska's Unicameral completed its 2010 legislative session on Wednesday, April 14. Once again, health care received a great deal of attention from policymakers at the state level. Many legislative proposals that affect access, quality and cost of health care were proposed and debated. Some were signed into law, others were not.
NHA Vice President Bruce Rieker will provide an update about this year's 60-day legislative session on Thursday, April 22. Mr. Rieker will discuss the state's current budget status and its impact on issues such as prenatal care, provider reimbursements, investor-owned hospitals, sales
and use taxes on health clinics, and many more issues important to Nebraska's community hospitals and their ability to deliver health care.
Click here for more information.
—
Nebraska Hospital Association, April 15, 2010
LINCOLN—Governor Heineman Wednesday signed into law
LB 999, a
bill which imposes a moratorium on new hospitals and requires the Legislature to study the issues associated with investor-owned hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and full-service community hospitals to determine if policy changes are necessary before the Legislature convenes in January 2011.
The moratorium created by LB 999 prohibits the licensure of all hospitals, except Critical Access Hospitals, that are not under construction as of May 1, 2010 and continues through September 15, 2011 in order to allow the Legislature to study the issue, develop policy as needed during the 2011 legislative session and implement it before the moratorium expires.
Under the bill, the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee will conduct a study that examines:
referral practices;
ownership disclosure;
community benefits; uncompensated and under-compensated patient care;
full-service community hospitals and limited-service facilities;
compliance with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act; and
the impact of federal health care reform.
—
Nebraska Hospital Association, April 16, 2010
Future sales tax exemption for nonprofit health clinics vetoed
LINCOLN—Health care clinics owned by a single nonprofit hospital will continue paying sales tax after a bill providing them an exemption was vetoed.
LB 420, introduced by Kearney Senator Galen Hadley, was approved by the Legislature April 12. Under the bill, nonprofit health clinics receiving federal funds through the U.S. Public Health Service and serving medically underserved populations also could have claimed the sales and use tax exemption.
Read more.
— Unicameral Update, April 13, 2010
20-week abortion ban approved
LINCOLN—Senators passed a bill April 13 that bans abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, except when the abortion would preserve the life of a patient or a fetus in the womb.
LB 1103, introduced by Norfolk Senator Mike Flood, requires abortion providers to determine the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus. If the fetus is determined to be at 20 weeks or more, an abortion is prohibited.
Read more.
— Unicameral Update, April 13, 2010
Monster budget gap awaits
LINCOLN—The end of this year’s legislative session didn’t bring the usual sense of closure to Nebraska lawmakers.
Not with the size of the budget monster that lies in wait when they reconvene next January.
The revenue shortfall is more than 8 percent of estimated state spending for the two-year budget period starting July 1, 2011. In raw numbers, it’s calculated at $679 million.
Read more.
— Omaha World-Herald, April 19, 2010
Obama signs unemployment benefits bill
WASHINGTO N—President Barack Obama quickly signed an extension of jobless benefits into law upon returning to the White House Thursday night.
The Senate approved an $18 billion extension to benefits on Thursday, sending the bill to the president. The legislation had been stalled in the Senate for weeks, causing a halt to benefits for hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers.
The legislation approved Thursday night provides benefits retroactively to cover that gap.
The package restores unemployment insurance and COBRA health care plan benefits that had lapsed since the end of March.
Read more.
—
The Hill, April 16, 2010
President Obama extends hospital visitation rights
WASHINGTON—President Obama mandated that nearly all hospitals extend visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians and respect patients' choices about who may make critical health care decisions for them. Administration officials and gay activists said the new rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding, a move that covers the vast majority of the nation's health care institutions. Obama's order will start a rule-making process at
the Department of Health and Human Services that could take several months, officials said, the
Washington Post reports.
Read more.
View
presidential memorandum.
—
Washington Post, April 16, 2010
WASHINGTON—The American Hospital Association (AHA) today released 12
issue papers outlining the association’s advocacy priorities for 2010. The papers, which help members explain the hospital field’s concerns to their legislators, will be highlighted at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting April 25-28 in Washington, D.C. Topics range from health information technology to clinical integration and fall into three categories: Shaping the Future for a Healthier America, Advancing Excellence in Patient Care, and Protecting the Promise of Care. Online registration for the AHA meeting has been extended through April 21, and a limited number of hotel rooms are still available. For more information or to register, visit
www.aha.org.
—
AHA News Now, April 16, 2010
For more information about health-related
legislative bills or resolutions, contact: Bruce Rieker, Vice President,
Advocacy, at (402) 742-8146 or
brieker@nhanet.org.
NHA Rotunda Review is published by the Nebraska Hospital
Association, 3255 Salt Creek Circle, Lincoln, NE 68504. Phone (402) 742-8140,
Fax (402) 742-8191. Visit our Web site at
www.nhanet.org. Kelley Porter, editor, at (402) 742-8151, or email,
kporter@nhanet.org.
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